Hello,I'm looking to purchase my first burr grinder on a budget....so if I'm not into making espresso, which one of thesewould be my best choice. The Baratza Encore or the Baratza Virtuosa?Any suggestions or comments appreciated,Thanks

Hello,I'm looking to purchase my first burr grinder on a budget....so if I'm not into making espresso, which one of thesewould be my best choice. The Baratza Encore or the Baratza Virtuosa?Any suggestions or comments appreciated,Thanks

Oddly enough I was looking to replace my current grinder and had been wondering the same thing myself. I've been reading lots of comparisons and reviews I guess it really comes down to how you brew your coffee.

The Encore is a "jack-of-all-trades" kind of grinder, it can do a lot of things but none of them exceptionally. All the reviews I've read rate it as a very solid grinder, fairly consistent, less than 2g lost in the grinder but seems to be ideal for automatic drip with a paper filter. It can do press pots, but seems to have some fines (though always listed as an acceptable amount). It also can do other manual brew methods as well but again suffers from some issues with "fines".

The Virtuosa just seems to be a better machine. Less fines, more consistent, less loss in the grinder. This of course comes at a premium in price.

Neither is really recommended to do espresso (though Baratza claims they can), so as long as you know you're not going down that road, either would be a good choice. If you're going from no grinder (or blade grinder) the Encore is still a solid option without breaking the bank.

Encore or Virtuoso? One step up to Virtuoso and you have the Preciso without the Micro feature. Virtuoso and Preciso, purchased new, have the same burrs and gearbox---only difference is the Micro. Mark Prince did a great Preciso review here on CoffeeGeek---read this review AND see the specs on Baratza's web site. After lots of research and inquiries, I learned I'd be in fine shape with Virtuoso for how I brew: Bonavita, CleverDripper or French Press.

Love my Virtuoso---I see no fines and hardly any grinds retention, a snap to clean.

To save $ check out the refurbs offered at Baratza, come w/warranty too.

Oddly enough I was looking to replace my current grinder and had been wondering the same thing myself. I've been reading lots of comparisons and reviews I guess it really comes down to how you brew your coffee.

The Encore is a "jack-of-all-trades" kind of grinder, it can do a lot of things but none of them exceptionally. All the reviews I've read rate it as a very solid grinder, fairly consistent, less than 2g lost in the grinder but seems to be ideal for automatic drip with a paper filter. It can do press pots, but seems to have some fines (though always listed as an acceptable amount). It also can do other manual brew methods as well but again suffers from some issues with "fines".

The Virtuosa just seems to be a better machine. Less fines, more consistent, less loss in the grinder. This of course comes at a premium in price.

Neither is really recommended to do espresso (though Baratza claims they can), so as long as you know you're not going down that road, either would be a good choice. If you're going from no grinder (or blade grinder) the Encore is still a solid option without breaking the bank.

If I had to choose my first Baratza grinder, I would recommend the Virtuoso. I had one for about a year. Depending on choice of brewer, the increased grind consistency could be a plus. I would also consider the Breville smart grinder. It's grind consistency might be slightly less then the Virtuoso, but it wins hands down in terns of ease of cleaning, ease of setup and user friendliness. It also has a shut-off hopper which enables one to remove the hopper without having to remove the beans.

The big plus for Baratza lies in the quality of their user support which is legendary. For me, the ergonomic, ease of maintenance, and user friendliness of the Breville is paramount, given my vision and dexterity issues. Others who bring different issues to the table, may have different needs and priorities.

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